TIMOR TODAY 15/09/99

See … http://www.easttimor.com/ for full text.

PHOTOS

a) An elderly East Timorese woman kisses the the hand of a U.N. worker as East Timorese arrive at the refugee processing center at Wirrara, Darwin, northern Australia. The United Nations closed its besieged compound and evacuated the 1,300 refugees inside to Australia. (AP Photo/Brian Cassey, Pool)

b) Nationalist Indonesian student demonstrators shout anti-foreign slogans as they march toward the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

NEWS

1) Indonesia accepts quick deployment of peacekeepers without conditions as refugees evacuated. 15/09/99 (AP) UNITED NATIONS - Indonesia is now requesting that an international peacekeeping force be sent to violence-ravaged East Timor as quickly as possible and is putting no conditions on what countries’ forces should be included, Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas said after a meeting Monday with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

2) Latest news from East Timor 15/09/99 (NPR) One of the few journalists remaining in East Timor is Allan Nairn, Who writes for The Nation. We caught up with him in Dili today and asked him about the reaction there to news of an international peacekeeping mission.

3) Military "fully involved’ in bloodshed": UN official 15/09/99 (Straits Times) The Indonesian armed forces are ‘fully involved’ in the bloodshed in East Timor, the UN human-rights chief says she has been told

4) Cave-in On Foreign Troops Sparks Nationalist Backlash 15/09/99 (Straits Times) Jakarta - President B.J. Habibie’s decision to allow foreign troops into trouble-torn East Timor sparked an upsurge of nationalist sentiments especially in the government and local media, with many resentful of international pressure on Indonesia.

5) Indonesian military has embarrassed the nation. 15/09/99 (Newsweek International) By Megawati Sukarnoputri / Jakarta - Indonesia’s international reputation has suffered terribly as a result of the human tragedy in East Timor. The daily barrage of news about our country and people portrays us as a nation that loves to kill and torture.

6) Jakarta gripped by talk of imminent high-level purge 15/09/99 (Business Times Singapore) JAKARTA was yesterday gripped by speculation over an imminent purge among the country’s top political ranks—even as the international community welcomed the Habibie government’s decision to allow a United Nations peacekeeping force to restore order in war-torn East Timor.

7) Former chief of scandal-hit Indonesian bank requests protection 15/09/99 (AFP) JAKARTA - The former head of Indonesia’s PT Bank Bali, which is at the center of a politically-charged scandal, Tuesday sought protection from a human rights group, saying he feared for his safety.

PRESS RELEASES

8) Canadian unions refuse Indonesian cargo and call boycott 15/09/99 (Canadian Labour Congress) OTTAWA—The Canadian Labour Congress has declared goods from Indonesia "hot cargo." Unions in the ports, and others in transportation and communication are investigating what steps they can take to impede the flow of goods to and from Indonesia.

BACKGROUND UPDATE

9) List of Countries Planning Timor Peace Force 15/09/99 (AP) A list of some of the countries that are considering contributing troops to a U.N.-mandated international peacekeeping force for East Timor:

NEW SECTION

10) Satelite images of East Timor being burned by Indonesian forces.

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